SerialPort

We're back! Early release: SPARCstation IPX power supply

We're back from a summer break! We recently embarked on a project to restore a Sun SPARCstation IPX that was donated by a viewer. We had no idea what sort of condition it was in, and it ended up de...

Rebuilding 1990s BBS software using Git

Last year Mark brought up the idea of revisiting BBS software called Impulse. It was popular with underground scene boards in the 90s, something we frequented as much as we could back then. We were...

Projects update

We wanted to give everyone an update on some of the ongoing projects here at The Serial Port.. of which there are many! We also have a sneak peek at our next video. More updates coming soon!

Early release! 512K Day: The Day The Internet (almost) Broke

We're back with a detailed look at an infamous day in Internet history. On August 12, 2014, the BGP routing table surpassed 512,000 routes, causing issues with certain networking platforms. One of ...

Early Access: PC Hardware Database

We just wrapped up a video about The Retro Web and its genesis from Total Hardware 99. Thumbnail still TBD but this video is now available for early Patron preview:

2025-04-25 20:08:40 +0000 UTC View Post

Recreating Dell's first Linux PC

We picked up a 2007 Dell XPS 410 at an auction last year, and paid it absolutely no mind for months. Little did we know, but it held a secret... it was Dell's first Linux PC!

This was a fun p...

Thanks to the TSP community, we got into the bowling alley computer!

The bowling alley PC and terminal saga is complete! Thanks to the community figuring out some solutions, we were able to gain full access to the bowling alley system. This was a completely unexpect...

ALTEON

We picked up an Alteon AceDirector2 load balancer several months ago with an interest in getting it working, and without knowing all that much about Alteon's history.

One of Alteon's founders...

A Dell PC hiding... SCO OpenServer?!

We picked up a couple of items from an auction recently, and we were very surprised to find out what was hiding on an otherwise unassuming Dell Optiplex 760...

Bringing the ProLiant 6500 back to life!

We've been working on the Compaq ProLiant 6500 that we salvaged from Dialstar. Our last update showed it running, but we took the time to completely clean it and do a few upgrades along the way :)<...

Radio New Zealand interview

Our first media appearance! Radio New Zealand recently asked us to talk with them about dial-up and our ISP video series for a new segment they put together called "Who Still Uses Dial-Up?" We chat...

Lab update and reorg

We've been wanting to reorganize the lab for awhile now, and we finally took the time to do so. The collection has been scattered across a few rooms and locations, so we wanted to try to consolidat...

Early Release! TWISTED: The origin of twisted-pair Ethernet

Just in time for Christmas, we've finished a video that's been months in the making: the history of twisted-pair Ethernet. We hear from Richard Bennett who helped develop the original twisted-pair ...

Early-ish release! Setting up PRI for the Total Control

We're finally back with the next step for the Total Control! In this episode we use the Cisco IAD to create a PRI to handle the incoming calls to the Total Control. We also take a look at TCManager...

Compaq Proliant 6500 project

Remember the Compaq Proliant we salvaged from the abandoned ISP? We finally take a quick look at it in this video, and actually get it powered on for the first time.

We'll be doing a full tea...

Early Release! Do you know the Password?

We're back with another Parallel Port entry where Ben checks out the US Robotics Password. It's a modem from 1983, just a few years after the release of their first models.

Special thanks to ...

Restoring the LAN Bridge... or not.

In our latest Parallel Port entry, we go through the process of getting our LAN Bridge repaired and restored. While we demonstrated a working LAN Bridge in our first video, this one wouldn't even p...

Monthly Update & our new merch store!

We catch up on what's been happening on the channel, talk about upcoming content, and share a sneak peek at some new hardware we just received.

We're also unveiling our new merch store built ...

Early release! Connecting to the Internet from 1987 via the IBM PS/2 Model 25

We finally get around to fulfilling our goal with the IBM PS/2 Model 25-- getting it on the 'net. We try out not one but TWO web servers on the 8086-powered screamer, and do some load testing on bo...

Early release! The US Robotics Total Control with 48 modems!

We couldn't wait to get into the Total Control we rescued from the abandoned Dialstar ISP. In this video we take a brief look at the history of the product line and then get right into checking out...

We discovered retro tech paradise at VCFMW 2024

Mark met up with Clabretro to attend and explore the incredible VCFMW 19 festival in Schaumburg, IL. Featuring dozens of exhibits and sellers, this was retro tech paradise!

We've also ...

Early Release! An IBM PC Server 320, or what's left of one

A link posted on the Discord caught our attention recently. It was for an IBM PC Server 320 and we thought it'd be a great addition to the Serial Port. What we received however was... not what...

Early Release! Expanding The Ether: The invention of the DEC LAN Bridge

We're back with another documentary that's been in the works for months. We've had some ups and downs along the way with interviews being cancelled and other delays, but it's finally ready for a re...

Clabretro Early Release! Will swapping a POWER5 CPU get the p5 back up and running?

Clab is back with an epic entry in the IBM p5 series! He swaps out a POWER5 CPU module, and then we finally get a look at the LPAR (Logical PARtition) setup process. There's also a look at the HMC ...

Clabretro Early Release! Sun StorEdge S1, tape drives, and SCSI!

Clabretro is back with a look at the Sun Microsystems StorEdge S1 storage array. It gets paired up with a SunFire V120 server through SCSI, and we see the whole process of getting the pair up and r...

Early Release: Cabletron multi-media hubs from the 90s!

Cabletron, aside from having arguably the best name of any networking vendor, made the legendary MMAC chassis starting in 1988. We take a look at a few examples we have, and see if we can get one b...

We found an abandoned ISP!

We're really excited to share this with everyone. A few weeks ago we found an auction listing for general "electronics parts" and hiding in the low resolution photo was what looked like a US Roboti...

Multi-node BBS on OS/2 Warp 3!

The BBS is up! We ran into a few problems along the way, but ultimately prevailed in getting our multi-node BBS operational on OS/2 Warp 3.

We still need to add content to the BBS like door g...

July Update -- The Serial Port BBS!

We've been hard at work on our next video which will feature the new Serial Port multi-node BBS. Here's a sneak peek of the BBS in action. We've still got a few bugs to iron out, but we can't wait ...

ISP Accounts now available

After rebuilding our VoIP system and getting a RADIUS system implemented, The Serial Port ISP is now ready for dial-in user testing.

you can dial in now at: 252-210-4004 user fredf password ...